Maintaining Mount Barker
With an approved budget of $14 million for the 2024–25 financial year, these teams continue to deliver an impressive volume of work — from playground upgrades to road repairs, tree care, and graffiti removal.
Here's a look at what’s been happening across the district over the past few months.
Safe and Fun: Playground Inspections and Upgrades
Mount Barker is home to 47 public playgrounds — all regularly inspected to ensure they’re safe, clean, and ready for use. In the first three months of the year alone, over 700 inspections were carried out. With high foot traffic during school holidays, extra care was taken to top up soft fall surfaces and complete minor maintenance. Two new playground features — a swing set at Meils Park in Littlehampton and a rocker at Woodgate Reserve in Echunga — are now ready to use.
Green Spaces, Clean Streets
The Public Places team put in more than 6,800 hours maintaining over 480 parks, reserves, streetscapes, and laneways. The team also supported 21 local events, including The Summit Showdown, providing 400+ hours of setup, inspection and pack-down.
With dry conditions continuing to impact vegetation, irrigation maintenance and targeted watering have been a major focus. The team also recruited three new members ahead of taking over the maintenance of a number of reserves from developers in May.
Roads, Drains and Footpaths
Council’s Civil Works crew completed major resheeting works on rural roads including Hack Range and Harvey Road, laying over 18,000 tonnes of material across more than 7.5 km. Other key projects included:
- 8.5 km of shoulder upgrades
- Trip hazard removal across 962 metres of footpath
- Sweeping of 300 km of roads
- Hahndorf Oval drainage improvements and upgrades to the Laratinga Trail
Drainage maintenance, including side entry pit cleaning and stormwater detention works, progressed across the district.
Council Facilities: Clean, Safe and Welcoming
The Technical Services team kept public spaces functioning, clean and safe — from public toilets and barbecues to signage and waste bins. Graffiti and illegally dumped rubbish were removed across the district, with notable clean-ups in Mount Barker, Nairne, Littlehampton, and Hahndorf.
Other highlights include:
- Branding and prep work for new waste trucks
- Delivery of 143 new bin sets to residents
- Community asset renewals in Kanmantoo, Littlehampton, and Echunga
Looking After Our Natural Assets
Mount Barker’s Environment and Natural Assets team was busy too, delivering more than 1,400 tree maintenance tasks and 2,396 inspections via the Forestree system. Tree watering hit 5,248 events, and 550m³ of mulch was applied around urban trees to support their health.
Weed control and early planting efforts began in key creek lines and stormwater basins, while 18 community volunteer events were supported by Council staff. Rabbit control programs and fire risk mitigation activities were also rolled out in preparation for autumn and winter.
Customer Requests & Community Response
Between January and March, 1,628 customer requests were logged through Council’s customer request management system — covering everything from maintenance needs to reporting damage or hazards.
Working Together for a Better Mount Barker
This report reflects just a portion of the day-to-day work happening across our region to keep infrastructure running smoothly, parks green and welcoming, and streets clean and safe. The Maintenance and Operations teams continue to respond to both planned works and community needs — and your feedback is always welcome.
To lodge a maintenance request or report an issue, contact the Mount Barker District Council Customer Service team or visit www.mountbarker.sa.gov.au.
